Cosmic Treadmill: 'MARBLE SEASON' by Gilbert Hernandez (review) - FORCES OF GEEK

Cosmic Treadmill: ‘MARBLE SEASON’ by Gilbert Hernandez (review)

The Cosmic Treadmill takes us back in time to those summer days of reading comics, collecting baseball cards and watching everyone grow up around you, even if it seemed as if you would never get older.

This year saw the release of Marble Season from Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets). 

As the summer starts to wind down and kids go back to school, what themes will resonate from this book to an all ages audience?

The book is not merely a nostalgic retread of Hernandez’ childhood, but rather an account of growing up, family and the livelihood of a neighborhood when kids still played outside.


MARBLE SEASON
Writer/Artist: Gilbert Hernandez
Price: $21.95
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
UPC: 9781770460867
BUY IT HERE

Los Bros. Hernandez have been publishing Love and Rockets for over 30 years.  

Marble Season is an excursion to the past, referencing the dawn of Marvel Comics in the ‘60s,Adventures of Superman on TV with George Reeves and Topps narrative trading cards Mars Attacks.

Brothers Huey and Junior join in the reading fun and both share access to Junior’s box of comics—that is until Mom puts an embargo on comics for the both of them until Junior gets his grades up. Their younger brother, the toddler Chavo is too young to read, and prefers to tear the covers from the books. 

Around the neighborhood are a whole host of boys and girls of differing ages, playing marbles, stickball and even a It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World party.

Everyone seems to get along, except for when they don’t, which usually ends up in an honest to goodness old fashioned fight with little boy punches and slaps (remember those?). 

A tomboy swings her stickball bat, some bad kids move into the neighborhood briefly for the summer and the star football player decides he is more interested in cooking than playing ball.

The little vignettes of Huey walking around the neighborhood as time passes takes the concept of Billy in Family Circus running around the block and elegantly captures the sense of time passing in the summer, and the myriad of adventures one finds themselves experiencing. The story is told through the eyes of Huey and Junior but also with the gift of play and imagination. 

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EARTH PRIME TIME: BEST VALENTINE’S COMICS

All is well this Valentine’s Day. The champagne or sparkling grape juice is chilled and the Rat Pack playlist has been chosen. After dinner and chocolates, you and your sweetie, (perhaps just by yourself) are getting into bed with rose petals and a big fat juicy stack of comics. That’s right, Earth Prime Time has your most romantic four-color stories this week to read to your baby this Valentine’s Day.

The modern caption would say, “…In the arms of a Media Blogger!!” - Love Romances - Jack ‘King’ Kirby

King of Comics, Jack Kirby and partner Joe Simon are known for creating Captain America in 1941. Jack and Joe spent most of the 40s and 50s creating all manner of heroes and funny books but were strangely passionate about the romance genre of comics. Panels that permeate pop culture were later stolen by artist Roy Lichtenstein in the style of Kirby and Simon’s Young Love, Young Romance and In Love books. Initially it was Simon’s idea to get pulp readers to pick up 10¢ illustrated tales of torrid romances, triangles and scandal. Dressing the girls and boys in current hairstyles and high fashion helped move the books along, as well as rare photo covers featuring bombshell cheerleaders. [Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby’s Romance Comics Hardcover, Fantagraphics]

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